Geographies of Studentification and Purpose-Built Student Accommodation: Leading Separate Lives?

Abstract

Off-campus student accommodation in the form of shared rental housing has become increasingly significant in the UK, with studies suggesting that this is having important consequences for housing markets in university towns. However, the continuing expansion of higher education, the increased involvement of private investment capital, and changing student demands are seen to be encouraging a move away from houses in multiple occupation towards purpose-built accommodation. Drawing on housing surveys and interviews conducted with current students in Loughborough (in the English East Midlands), I conclude that such purpose-built developments are implicated in processes of urban gentrification, having potentially major consequences for studentification and community cohesion in British cities.